Tissue culture technique utilizing a specific light source

• US 4,060,933 A
• Filed: 12/20/1976
• Issued: 12/06/1977
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/1976
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: GTE Laboratories Incorporated (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: GTE Laboratories Incorporated (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kadkade, Prakash G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bagwill, Robert E.
• Application Number:
  US05/752,485
• Time in Patent Office: 351 Days
• Field of Search: 47/58, 47/DIG. 6
• US Class Current: 47/58.10R
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 7/045 with electric lighting
• CPC Class Codes: A01H 4/00 Plant reproduction by tissue culture techniques ; Tissue culture techniques therefor
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 60/14 Measures for saving energy, e.g. in green houses
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 47/06 Plant growth regulation by control of light thereon

Abstract

One aspect of the invention comprises a method for stimulating organogenesis of explants in a tissue culture comprising the step of illuminating the explant culture during at least a portion of its differentiation stage with light having a predominate spectral emission of approximately 660nm.

A second aspect of the invention includes the additional illumination of the explants with 740nm light, subsequent to an intervening period of preferably one to two weeks. The 660nm light primarily stimulates shoot formation while the 740nm light primarily stimulates root formation. The intervening period precludes photoreversibility of the initially obtained light effects.

Claims

1. A method for stimulating organogenesis of explants in a tissue culture medium comprising the step of:

illuminating the explant during at least a portion of its differentiation stage with light having a predominate spectral emission at approximately 660nm.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the donor plant is selected from the group consisting of lettuce, fir trees and pine trees.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the explants are illuminated for a period of approximately 5 minutes per day.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the light intensity is in the range of approximately 0.010 to 2.0 mW/cm².

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the explants are only illuminated during approximately the second week of the culture period.

6. A method for stimulating organogenesis of explants in a tissue culture medium comprising the steps of:

placing an embryo of the donor plant in a culture medium;

illuminating the cultured embryo with light having a predominate spectral emission at a wavelength of approximately 660nm to induce shoot formation; and

illuminating the cultured embryo with light having a predominate spectral emission at a wavelength of approximately 740nm to stimulate root formation, an intervening period being provided between the two illuminations sufficiently long to prevent photoreversibility of the firstly stimulated effect.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the cultured embryo is initially illuminated with the 660nm light.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein the intervening period is from one to two weeks.

9. A method for stimulating organogenesis of embryo explants in a tissue culture medium comprising the steps of:

placing only the distal or cotyledon end of the embryo in the culture medium and

illuminating the embryo during at least a portion of its differentiation stage with light having a predominate spectral emission of approximately 660nm.

10. The method of claim 9 including the step of:

illuminating the cultured embryo with light having at predominate spectral wavelength of 740nm, an intervening period being established between the two illumination periods to generally prevent photoreversibility of the firstly stimulated organ forming process.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein the distal or cotyledon end has been excised from the embryo prior to placement in the culture medium.